Suspect charged in murder case no longer a juvenile

No longer a juvenile, the booking photo for a third teenager charged in connection to the murder of a cab driver was posted on the Yuma County Adult Detention Center's website Wednesday, the morning of her birthday.

Jada Rose Herrera, now 18, has been in custody at Yuma County jail since Sept. 24, 2018, when she was formally charged as an adult in the case. Due to being a minor while in custody, her photo was not a public record.

Herrera was initially arrested on August 17, 2018 as a minor and had been held at the Yuma Juvenile Justice before being transferred.

Herrera has been charged with 1st-degree murder and armed robbery in the shooting death of 55-year-old Guillermo Sotelo, of San Luis Rio Colorado, Son. Mexico. On Oct. 24. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges and remains in custody at Yuma County jail on a $1,000,000 cash-only bond.

Also charged in connection to the killing are Hailey Dawn Hoover and Tyrus Nathan Twist, who both also minors at the time. They are also being tried as adults

At her last hearing, which was on May 16, Herrera's case was set for a final trial management conference for 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 21. A trial date was also set and is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Dec. 3, and last three weeks.

Herrera is being represented by Yuma attorney Wm. Michael Smith.

Sotelo, who was a driver for Crazy 8’s Taxi Company, was reported missing early in the morning of July 30, 2018 to the Yuma Police Department. He was driving a turquoise 2001 Honda taxi, and was last believed to be en route to Somerton to pick up a passenger.

His body was found the next day lying a short distance off the roadway in the desert, shot at least once. The taxi, which had a flat tire, was found at about 7:10 p.m. on Aug. 7 in an alley near 28th Street and Avenue A in Yuma.

Somerton police reported that they discovered information leading to the identification of two suspects, later known to be Hoover and Twist.

A few days later, Cocopah Tribal Police, acting on an attempt to locate order issued by Somerton police, found a stolen vehicle that the suspects were believed to be driving.

When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, Twist and Hoover fled.

After a short pursuit by Somerton and Cocopah Police Departments into Somerton, Twist and Hoover were taken into custody without incident. Phone records aided investigators in connecting Herrera to the murder and armed robbery.